JUDGMENT :

(Prayer: Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus forbearing the respondents, their men and agents from permitting the schools in admitting the students in any class without applying or getting transfer certificate from the members of the petitioner association where the students previously studied.)

1. This writ petition has been filed for the issue of a Writ of Mandamus forbearing the respondents from admitting students in any class in a different school without applying or getting a Transfer Certificate from the Schools which are members of the petitioner Association.

2. The petitioner Association claims to have nearly 297 schools as members and this includes both minority and non-minority schools.

3. It is stated that due to the pandemic situation, the State Government was forced to impose a lock down from March 2020 onwards. Even though for a very brief period the situation improved and some attempts were made to conduct physical classes, once again the situation became worse and therefore, the State Government was left with no other option except to continue the lock down and as a result of the same, all the schools in the State have been functioning for more than 1½ years only through on-line mode. The State Government was not even able to conduct the examinations and hence was left with no other option except to pass Government Orders and declare all students as passed, by issuing certain guidelines.

3. It is also a fact that there was a dispute with regard to payment of fees and this Court had to intervene and issue directions during the academic year 2020-21. Once again, the payment of fees became an issue this year also and ultimately the State Government has come up with a solution for the payment of fees for the academic year 2021-22 and this Court has also passed orders in that regard.

4. Insofar as the present case is concerned, the main grievance that has been expressed by the Association is that the students are moving from one school to another or leaving the schools even without applying or getting a Transfer Certificate from the concerned school. It is stated that the self financing schools will have to manage the school and pay the salary only out of the fees paid by the students studying in the school. Therefore, they should know the total number of students who are going to study in the school and the ones who are going to leave. Thereby, the schools will be able to properly budget for their expenses.

5. The regulations for the Matriculation Schools in Tamil Nadu is governed by the Code of Regulations and it specifically provides that the students can be admitted in another school after the students get Transfer Certificate from the earlier school where the student was undergoing the education. According to the petitioner, there are instructions issued by the educational authorities to the effect that the schools can admit students even without Transfer Certificate. This according to the petitioner Association runs contrary to the relevant regulations. It is also stated that it is contrary to the relevant provisions under the Right to Education Act, 2009.

6. The petitioner Association has therefore approached this Court seeking for a direction that the students should not be admitted in a different school without applying or getting a Transfer Certificate from the school where they had already undergone education.

7. Heard Mr.Ebenezer Paul, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.A.Selvendran, learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents.

8. The learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents submitted that the State Government is already facing a lot of challenges in running the schools effectively during this pandemic situation. The learned counsel submitted that, whatever decisions are taken, by the State Government, it mainly focuses on the interest of the students and the Government wants to ensure that no s